Signs
by Yamamuri Sadako
Summary: It's Not Like They Didn't Warn Us. Ch. 5 is up
1. Meeting Lady Thrax

Signs  
  
Ch. 1: Meeting Lady Thrax  
  
A/n: M. Night Shyalman rules! Mel Gibson's cute! I'm really weird! I'm also pissed at Fox for killing Muldar on the X-Files! They always kill off the hot guy! And why the heck did they make Scully's baby an alien? What happened to the cute lil' aliens? I'll shut up now. The theories that I have are really mine. I'm studying to become a paranormal investigator.  
  
Dib sighed as he walked along a cold, dark street in Washington state. He was there for one reason. He was to meet a contact from the Swollen Eyeball who was a native of the state. He heard that there had been a mess of paranormal activity in the state. Bigfoot sightings, Poltergeist activity, UFO sightings, and crops circles were some of the many cases reportedly being said from thousands of state residents. Crop circles and UFOs were a real rarity in this state, but it did happen. Dib looked at the note he was given and read it silently to himself.  
  
"Walk north until you reach a heavily wooded area. Stand near the side of the road. Codeword: Kasper Hauser."  
  
All too soon, Dib found himself were he needed to be. He stood were the note said to, then whispered the codeword.  
  
"Kasper Hauser."  
  
A figure stepped out underneath a street light. The figure was tall and slender. She spoke in a low, yet feminine voice.  
  
"Good work, Agent Mothman, you found me." she said. Her skin looked chalk white what with all the black she was wearing. If he didn't know better, Dib would have mistaken this girl for a Mafia hitman. She wore a long black trench coat, and a black fondora hat, Dib thought she was a gangster movie fan or something. She smiled at him, Dib realized that this girl could be no older than 14.  
  
"No, Agent Mothman I'm not with the Mafia." she said, she cleared her throat and impersonated an Irish accent.  
" 'The life we choose is the life we lead'. Naw, I'm not with any Irish Mafia, or any Italian Godfather. I'm just strictly with the Swollen Eyeball. Name's Lady Thrax." she extended her hand. Dib shook it, he had never seen eyes so dark as hers.  
  
"First off is a crop circle." Lady Thrax said.  
  
Dib looked confused.  
  
"A crop circle?" he repeated.  
  
Lady Thrax yawned, she looked like she hadn't slept in a long time.  
"Yep. Gees, the folks at the Swollen eyeball have been keeping me up since all this stuff's been happening, I'm the only member in the state."  
  
Dib yawned as well.  
  
"How long has this been going on?" he asked as the two of them walked down to a farm house.  
  
Lady Thrax shrugged.  
  
"About two months." she said.  
  
Dib was shocked.  
  
"You'd better take it easy." he said.  
  
Lady Thrax 'phft' loudly.  
  
"I'm fine, I've just been havin'- the coffee flow and been takin' pep pills. I'll manage."  
  
Dib shook his head.  
  
"This is insane! They can't do this to you." he went on.  
  
"They can and they did. Every single paranormal society I've joined has been keepin' me up and running. I'm not some sort of John Nash genius. I'm a paranormalist. I'm a believer in some fields, a skeptic in others. My friends all want to know about my work, my boyfriend however, is a realist. He doesn't want me to 'preach my crazy notions' as he puts it. I'll show him, I'll show them all." she said.  
"Now, I won't laugh at your theories or say that mine are right, but what do you think crop circles really are?" she asked.  
  
Dib shrugged.  
  
"I've never really- put a thought into it. I think it's some sort of igneous code that humans are just too foolish to break." he said. Lady Thrax nodded, acknoliging the theory. She put a hand to her chin and walked around the largest circle. She examined the sides.  
  
"Burns marks. No real damage done, just some minor burns. It can't have been hoaxed. It's too perfect. Besides, hoaxers wouldn't burn the sides of the crop. I've seen how it's done, I used to make 'em in the back of my great grandmother's farm in Wyoming at Halloween. Me and my dad gave her a good scare. But-" she dusted off some of the scorched plant fiber, leaving an odd colored residue on her fingers. She looked at her hand as though she were transforming into some sort of horrible creature.  
  
"....But this- I can't explain. I belivie that crop circles are just the imprints of the burners when the ships take off. This soot proves it. I only need to know why they're here..." she said.  
"In all my years of work, stuidng, proving and disproving theories. Everyone in my family supports my work. Except one." she said, she seemed to be speaking with self loathing now.   
  
Dib wanted to know more about this girl. He stepped into the circle beside her.  
"Who doesn't support you in your studies?" he asked.  
  
Lady Thrax sighed, she must have had a Celtic background in her, for she seemed to whisper Celtic songs when she worked.  
  
"My grandmother. You see, I became fascinated with the paranormal when I was a young girl. I'm a target for poltergeist activity. The earliest thing I remember- I was three. My mother, myself and my aunt were watching TV. We saw a pair of scissors float above the table I was next to. It was in my grandmother's house. That's where the poltergeist is. I want to find out what he wants, but I'm forbidden to use an Ouja board, they're against my religion. I try to talk to the visitor, but he never wants to talk. I'll right down questions for him, but they remain unanswered. I call him Phil. Phil's favorite thing is to knock candles off the fireplace mantle. But of course, he always stop when I tell him to. We'll be stopping by there later, it'll be scary. That house is very frightening at night when you're by yourself. I can't be in that house alone. But, I'm never alone, there's someone in that house that I can't see, even when there is no other physical person there besides myself." she said.  
  
Die listened intently. He was fascinated with Lady Thrax. A hard-core paranormalist. And she was only 14.  
  
"Everyone on my mother's side of the family has had an experience with the supernatural. For me, my aunt and my mother, it was the floating scissors. My great grandparents claimed to have smelled bigfoot. My grandfather has met angels. I've seen both ghosts and angels. I've seen UFOs. I've even seen the Mothman, your namesake. Do you want to hear a real ghost story?" she asked Dib.  
  
Dib nodded. He wanted to know everything that Lady Thrax had seen, had known.  
  
"A long time ago, my great uncle Kenny was killed in a car crash. He left behind a wife and two sons. One of the sons was two years old. He was playing in his crib. Uncle Kenny's wife was about to open the door, because the child was laughing. She heard the baby say 'more tickle Daddy! More tickle!'.." Lady Thrax's voice cracked as though she was trying not to cry.  
  
"She opened the door and no one but the child was there. I guess Uncle Kenny just wasn't ready to say goodbye. My grandmother never wanted to tell me. She hates it when I start studying the supernatural. She says I end up getting demonically possessed. I'm not going to get into the spirit contact BS. It's real, but I know better then to toy with demons." She pulled a beaded chain out of her pocket. It was a rosary.  
  
"I take this with me on every case I go to. It helps relieve my fears."  
  
A rustling sound made them both jump. Lady Thrax pulled out a gun.  
  
"Who's there?!" she called into the night.   
"I am a paranormal investigator for the Swollen Eyeball society, you will make yourself known!" she said cocking back the hammer on her gun.  
  
"Is that thing real?" Dib asked.  
  
Lady Thrax's hand shook.  
  
"Stun gun." she whispered. Her breathing increased.  
  
"I warn you, I am armed! If you fail to identify yourself-what ever you may be- I will be forced to use my firearm."  
  
Dib looked rather impressed.  
  
"What, are you with the Men in Black?" he asked.  
  
"Please, the aliens they've got in NY are all a bunch of fakes. I went down there to check it out, load a bull, that is." she said. The rustling sound came nearer. Lady Thrax spun around, a flashlight in one hand, her stun gun in the other.  
  
"All right, you asked for it!" she said. She pulled the trigger, sending a bolt of light into the crop. A horrid sound, like fifty people screaming at once filled the paranormalists' ears. A huge creature took of into the air and turned to face them. Dib stared opened mouthed.  
  
"The Mothman.." he whispered.  
"I never thought it was real."  
  
Lady Thrax fired another shot at the creature. It screamed at her again, before falling to he ground. Dib ran over to it.  
  
"You killed it!" he said.  
  
Lady Thrax brushed her hair out of her eyes.  
  
"I stunned it, kid. Stunned." she said.  
  
She approached the creature as calmly as she would a furry little rabbit. She bent down near and looked at it's wings.  
  
"Amazing. And to think that this-" she stopped as the creature suddenly snapped awake and grabbed her by the throat. She looked terrified. Her mouth trembling- trying to mutter something.  
  
"H-help me!" she whispered to Dib.  
"Please, don't let it kill me." she whispered.  
  
Dib didn't know what to do. He saw the monster's bright red eyes, drilling into Lady Thrax's dark green ones. The light soon blotted out the color of her eyes.   
  
"What do you want with me?" she whispered to the creature.  
  
The Mothman turned her hand palm foreword. It then took her hand. Lady Thrax winced in pain. The creature set her down, then flew off into the night. Dib ran up to Lady Thrax who was now sitting in the crop circle. She was looking at her hand like she did with the soot from the crop circle. But now she had a reason. A strange symbol was burned into her flesh.  
  
"What does this mean?" she asked.  
"The cryptzoologists never mentioned anything about this." she said.  
  
Dib looked at her hand. The mark looked like an oblique letter S with lines through it, the lines connecting at the top.  
  
"There is only one person would know." he said.  
"Zim. He-"  
  
Lady Thrax put up a hand to silence him.  
  
"I've followed the case on Zim for a while. I've been keeping tabs on the information you've given us. I'm the only one who believes. Zim is here, you know."  
  
Dib looked confused.  
  
"What? Why would he be here?"   
  
Zim krept out from the field. He grabbed Lady Thrax's wrist, turning it behind her back.  
  
"Because you're far too inquisitive about me to remain among the living." said the alien, pulling he's own gun out on the two paranormalists. 


	2. Meanings

Signs  
  
Ch. 2: Meanings  
  
A/N: Okay, I dare somebody to write two fics based M. Night Shyalaman movies, I dare somebody to do a fic of 'The Sixth Sense', I could see Gaz being that kid who sees dead people... and somebody else to do one of 'Unbreakable', (Flashbacks of 'Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy' play on TV.) I could see Dib being the evil mastermind... But those two are just suggestions, the kid from 'The Sixth Sense' could be whoever and you can write who ever you think would work as the cast from 'Unbreakable'. E-mail me at abriisgrig@earthlink.net to ask if you can write the fics. For subject, just type 'Unbreakable' or "The Sixth Sense', that way I'll know which one you want to do. Yes, fan peeps will work as main charaters. For this 'X-Files'/'MiB'/'Invader Zim'/'Signs' mix up: I own nothing except Zkima, Arwin, Zeek, Graham, and Sybil, these guys will make themselves known later. The great M. Night Shyalaman owns himself.  
  
  
Lady Thrax kicked Zim in the gut and pulled out a gun.  
  
"Put your hands on your head or I'll shoot." she threatened.  
  
Zim did as he was told. Dib stared.  
  
"Is that gun real?" he asked.  
  
Lady Thrax nodded.  
  
"This little sucker was the only one minors could get, even though I've got friends in the FBI... 'Law is law' they said. It kinda sucks, but it could easily blow a hole in some place I think a guy would regret shot at." she said not keeping her eyes off Zim. Zim gulped.  
  
"Do you know what that mark means?" he asked, taking a step foreword. Lady Thrax cocked the hammer on her gun.  
  
"Listen to me! Do you?" he asked.  
  
"No, but make it quick before I shoot you."  
  
Zim gulped again, he was sweating nervously.  
  
"It looks like the crop circle we are in now, it will change shape before a new crop circle appears. The mark will change into the newly made crop circle before they appear in the fields. Each one will get more complex, until- until it's over."  
  
Lady Thrax growled. She grabbed Zim by his shirt collar and jammed her gun into his gut.  
  
"What's going to be over?! Tell me now and try not to lie to me!" she snarled.  
  
Zim fought to get out of her grip. Lady Thrax smiled evilly.  
  
"One.." she said, she seemed to be holding back a laugh.  
  
"Two.." Zim felt her finger grip the trigger.  
  
"All right! They're coming! I don't know who or what they are but they are going to destroy this planet!" Zim screamed.  
  
Lady Thrax threw the alien on to the ground.  
  
"You've been a great help to the swollen eyeball society..." she said an evil look in her eyes.  
  
Zim looked terrified.  
  
"Here is your reward." Lady Thrax continued, she shot Zim in the head. She blew a small trail of smoke off the barrel of her gun. Dib stared in horror. Lady Thrax calmly cleaned the dark green blood off her hands (she shot Zim at point-blank range).  
  
"Wh- why did you shoot him?" Dib asked.  
  
"What if he really knew what was going on? He could've gone and contacted his space friends and that would've been us lying there instead of him. Besides I was given strict orders to hunt down and kill any alien lifeform found. I was doing my job." Lady Thrax said.  
  
"Since when did the SE say you had to shoot and kill alien lifeforms?"  
  
Lady Thrax smiled.  
  
"Since we found out that the leader of our society is really M. Night Shyalaman." she said.  
  
Dib's eyes widened.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No. I'm kidding. But we were granted permission since 9/11. We aren't taking chances anymore... But sometimes, when you look back on the past, you realize your faults, your mistakes...You notice how cruel you've been to people. I now that for sure... I'm heartless... If it really is the end of the world- I'm screwed aren't I?" Lady Thrax said. She was looking at her hand, the weird crop circle shape was changing. She sighed.  
  
"Here we go again." 


	3. Beginning of the End

Signs  
  
Chapter 3: Beginning of the End  
  
A/N: This gets more suspense-ish - is that a word? If it's not, I don't care! I use a few lines from 'Signs'. I also use a few lines from the song 'Hero', which has more to do with 'Spider-Man' then an alien invasion... Oh well! (Skips off happily singing into a large crop circle.) Dooty-doo- dooty- dooty-doo-doo-doo-dooty-doo... (Readers shudder in fear.)  
  
Lady Thrax raced down to the farm house.  
  
"Ma'am, can I borrow your radio?" she asked a surprised woman who lived at the farm.  
  
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?!" the woman demanded.  
  
Dib stepped in the doorway, he saw Lady Thrax fiddle with something, he realized it was a mind eraser thingy from 'Men in Black'. He shielded his eyes while Lady Thrax pressed the side of her glasses, sunglasses covering the lenses.  
  
"Why I'm here is none of your concern. I am nothing more than a figment of your imagination." she said, in a flash of light, the woman sat down in a chair, and stared out the window. Lady Thrax took the radio and walked out the door, dragging Dib out by the collar of his jacket. Lady Thrax heard the sound of someone crying. She turned around, letting Dib go. A little girl, about five years of age was sitting in a rocking chair, crying. Lady Thrax bent down next to the child.  
  
"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" she asked in a sweet voice.  
  
The little girl sniffed.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked, clutching a brown teddy bear closely.  
  
Lady Thrax sat down on the porch. Dib smiled, he could tell that Lady Thrax really wasn't as heartless as she claimed. But, he wondered, maybe all teenage girls have maternal insticnts.  
  
"My name is Abri." Lady Thrax said. Dib was thrust out of his thoughts by hearing Lady Thrax say her real name. The little girl sniffed again.  
  
"My name's Heather, are you one of the bad people?" the girl asked.  
  
Abri looked shocked.  
  
"What bad people, sweetie?" she asked, trying to sound calm.  
  
Heather held her teddy bear even closer.  
  
"The bad people who were here last night. They made the weird shape thingy out in Mommy's wheat field." Heather said.  
  
Abri's eyes widened in fear. She cleared her throat and hoped to regain her gentle voice as to not frighten the girl.  
  
"You- you * saw * what made that circle in your mommy's field?" she asked.  
  
Heather nodded.  
  
"Unh huh."  
  
Abri took the little girl's hand.  
  
"What did the bad person look like, honey?" she asked.  
  
Heather looked at the barn. She pointed at the roof.  
  
"Like that."  
  
A small gray creature with white glowing eyes stared back at the three of them. Abri gasped. Dib's mouth fell open. Heather continued to point at the creature.  
  
"I'll be right back, sweetie, okay?" Abri said to Heather.  
  
"I don't want to be out here by myself." she said.  
  
Abri looked at Dib for help. Dib mouthed his name to her.  
  
"Heather, this is Dib, he'll take you inside, you can talk to your mommy, I'm going to make sure that the bad thing won't hurt you, okay?" Abri said, cupping a hand to Heather's chin. The child nodded. Abri felt crushed by the look in the girl's eyes, fear, worry- why worry?  
  
"Be careful. I'll see if my mommy will let you two stay over." she said. Abri opened her mouth to speak- but she saw how scared Heather looked and nodded.  
  
"Okay, we won't be able to find place to stay anyway."  
  
Heather laughed just as a clap of thunder rolled.  
  
"What's so funny?" Dib asked.  
  
"She sounds like Dr. Suess!" Heather said. She took Dib's hand and slid off the chair and led him inside. Rain began pelting the farm house. It was one of those disgusting warm summer rains. Abri climbed up the side of the farm house, slipping once and cutting her leg on a jagged piece of aluminum siding. She made it to the roof and found the little gray being still there. It said nothing. It just looked at her.  
  
"What do you want? Why are you here?" the human asked. Still, the creature said nothing. Abri licked her lips nervously.  
  
"Are you friend?" she made the sign that aliens most commonly make, the 'live long and prosper' sign. The alien gave another gesture that would have made Abri laugh had she not been fearing that she may fall off the roof.  
  
"You naughty little thing!" she said. The creature jumped foreword, then, with amazing strength for such a little body, jumped like a kick boxer, pushing Abri off the roof. It was a long fall, Abri watched the ground come closer to her.  
  
"God have mercy." she whispered. She hit the ground with a thud. She didn't get up.  
  
From inside the farm house, Heather screamed, she had been looking out the window the whole time, she saw Abri fall off the roof. She ran out the door, her mother and Dib following. Her mother and Dib caught up with her, Heather was on her knees, shaking Abri. She was crying harder now.  
  
"Wake up, Abi, please. Wake up. I already lost my Daddy, I don't want a friend to die too."   
  
Dib bit his lip. Heather liked Abri. He could tell that the girl had never had a friend. He could also tell that Abri was hurt. Heather's mother spoke up.  
  
"Come on, let's get her inside." she said. She and Dib got Abri inside. Heather got a first aid kit. Once inside, Heather's mother began to make sure Abri was still alive.  
  
"Is Abi gonna be okay, Mommy?" the five year old asked. Abri awoke, she touched Heather's long blonde hair.  
  
"I think I'll live." she said weakly. She fought to sit up, but was held down by the shoulders by Heather's mother.  
  
"You need to lie still, Abri. You had a nasty fall. I'm Mrs. Greenwald by the way." she said. She listened to Abri's heart.  
  
"My mommy's a nurse." said Heather to Dib proudly.  
"She'll fix Abi up in no time."  
  
Mrs. Greenwald sighed.  
  
"I'm afraid it's going to take more time then a few minutes, Heather." she told her daughter gently as she covered Abri up with a blanket, who fell asleep in seconds.   
"She's got more than a cut. She's got some broken ribs. I think she'll be sick too, she looks like she's gone without sleep for a while."  
  
Dib nodded.  
  
"She has, she's been studying for something." he said.  
  
A boy about Dib's age walked in, he was soaking wet. He looked from Mrs. Greenwald, to Heather, then Dib, then finally Abri.  
  
"What's with the brood on the couch?" he asked. Mrs. Greenwald and Heather looked appalled.  
  
"Graham!" said Mrs., Greenwald.   
"Watch your language! The young woman is Abri, she and her friend Dib are here to find out something... I can't remember what. Anyway, She was on the roof looking for- something and fell off. She and Dib will be staying with us for a while."  
  
Dib tried hard not to laugh. The thought of the mind eraser was funny. Mrs. Greenwald turned on the TV to the news. An news caster appeared with a little box on the side with the top story.  
  
"All across the world, crop circles have been appearing, even in broad daylight. Stranger still, all the circles are the same formation. Every. Last. One. And they all seem to be happening hours between one another. There have also be hundreds of reported accidents near the sights of the crop circles. Could this be some type of coincidence, or is something trying to warn us?" Mrs. Greenwald quickly turned off the TV when she noticed Heather's scared face and that Abri stirred at the caster's last six words. She stood up, making sure that Abri was back to sleep.  
  
"All right, Graham, Heather, time for bed." she whispered.  
  
"Mom- the crop circle-" Graham started.  
  
"I'll have no more of this alien nonsense." said Mrs. Greenwald firmly.  
  
"Mommy, can I sleep out here with Abi and Dib tonight?" Heather asked.  
  
Mrs. Greenwald opened her mouth, but no words came. She looked to Dib, who nodded.  
  
"Okay, darling. No more news, you hear me?" her mother said.  
  
Heather nodded, still clutching her teddy bear. She walked down the hall and came back a moment later with some pillows and blankets. Dib took a pillow and a blanket and made himself a little bed on the floor near the fire place. Heather however, made herself a makeshift bed near the couch where Abri lay. The little girl looked at the teenager and smiled.  
  
"Goodnight." she whispered.  
  
Dib smiled to himself. He'd never seen anyone take such a shine to someone they just met. He tried to sleep, but he couldn't. Too much was on his mind. He heard Abri moan slightly in her sleep. Heather looked up from where she lay and got on her knees. Dib got up and stood behind her. He watched as Heather gently lifted Abri's arm and put her teddy bear under it, then lay her arm down. Abri woke up in surprise. Heather quickly ducked down back under her covers. Abri smiled, but she looked like she wanted to cry. She fought to turn over on her side. She succeeded and found that Heather was now fast asleep. Abri lay the bear next to her, she smiled as Heather's arm embraced the bear.  
  
"I never knew anyone could be that caring." she whispered to Dib. She turned slowly onto her back.  
"It's hurts...Seeing someone so innocent, upset like she was. I could hear her crying, wanting me to get up. In my mind I wanted to, but my body wouldn't respond. I don't know what's wrong with me. Normally, I would've ignored her. When I had Mrs. Greenwald's radio... I didn't. I guess- I guess I'm just growing up. Maternal instincts. Guys are lucky, they really have nothing to worry about." she said.  
  
"Hey, guys have fatherly instincts once and a while." Dib said.  
  
"You won't for another few years. But some of the boys at my skool, well, even the dumbest of the jocks would behave fatherly if they came across a lost child. I mean, we had one of the other students' moms come into class once. I caught my boyfriend playing with the little three year old boy the mother had tagging along with her. I miss him. He hasn't contacted me over the summer. To be honest, I don't think he likes me anymore. We had a fight the last day of skool- I wonder if he's still angry. Like it matters anymore, we'll all be dead soon anyway." Abri went on, she sighed.   
  
"Goodnight, Dib." she whispered.  
  
" 'Night." he said, walking back to his blanket on the floor.  
  
Abri stared at the ceiling. She sang a little bit of a song she knew.  
  
" Now that the world isn't ending   
It's love that I'm sending to you  
It isn't the love of a hero  
And that's why I fear it won't do..."  
  
She felt a tugging on her coat sleeve. She looked down.  
  
"Heather?" she asked. Dib looked up, he couldn't sleep ether.  
  
Heather sighed.  
  
"Abi, could- could you tell me a story?"  
  
Abri looked surprised, she'd never been asked that before.  
  
"O- okay. Um, here we go. Once upon a time there were some pretty pictures appearing in fields. No one knew what these pretty pictures meant, but they wanted to find out. So, one day, two people came and went to a place where one of the pretty pictures were. While they were there they met a very nice little girl. The two people wanted to find out why the pictures were in the little girl's field. They learned at the pretty pictures were made by something that wasn't very nice. More and more of these pictures began popping up all over the world. Still, the two people wanted to figure out why the pictures were there. They also wanted to find out what they meant. They found one of the not-very-nice things that made the picture and made it go away...." she stopped, not knowing what to say.  
  
Heather was nearly asleep.  
  
"How does it end?" she asked, hugging her teddy bear.  
  
Abri laid back down and sighed.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
A/N: HOLY CRAP! Is that fluff?! Am I writing fluff?! (Runs off screaming.) 


	4. It's Not Like They Didn't Warn Us

Signs  
  
Ch. 4: It's Not Like They Didn't Warn Us.  
  
A/N: (I'm in a large space ship with two aliens.) Hey every one! I'm going to Mars! (I look to the aliens) Hey guys, what's for dinner? (The aliens beep Morse code signals. They have forks and knives in their hands. They are looking at me.) Oh boy...  
  
  
The next morning Heather, Dib, and Abri awoke to the sound and smell of cooking bacon.  
  
"Ooooh, yum!" Abri muttered, yawning, she sat up. She looked confused.  
  
"Um, Mrs. Greenwald," she said putting on her glasses.  
"If I broke a couple of ribs, it would hurt to breathe, would it not?"  
  
Mrs. Greenwald poked her head out through the kitchen doorway.  
  
"I would certainly say so, why?" she asked, turning her attention back to the bacon.  
  
Abri still looked confused.  
  
"It doesn't hurt anymore..." she whispered.  
  
Dib laughed.  
  
"Whoa, it's like 'The Others'! Maybe you're really dead and we don't know."  
  
Heather looked frightened.  
  
"Stop it!" the five year old snapped at Dib.  
"Abi's fine...Aren't you?" she asked, looking at the teenager.  
  
Abri ran her fingers through her short brown hair.  
  
"I- I'm not sure. I feel fine, but- how could five broken ribs heal overnight?" she whispered.  
  
"I saw another one of those aliens last night." Dib whispered out of Heather's hearing range.  
  
"What?!" Abri whispered.  
  
"It was looking through the window- right at you. Maybe they can heal." Dib said.  
  
"I think that they did that just so they could fight me again." Abri said, turning on the news.  
"Sooner or later were are going to have to come clean about why we're here. This is bad, fifteen crop circles in India within the last 24 hours." she said.  
  
Dib looked at the television.  
  
"It's like War of the Worlds." he said.  
  
Abri turned off the TV.  
  
"I regret dissing H.G. Wells in literature class." she said.  
  
They sat down at the dining room table. Breakfast was set before them but the paranormalists only picked at their food.  
  
"Is something bothering you two?" asked Mrs. Greenwald.  
  
Dib sighed.  
  
"Oh, just realizing that we are now in the days of the end of- OW!" Dib said as Abri stepped hard on his foot. Abri cleared her throat.  
  
"No, we're just not all that hungry." she said as Dib scowled at her. She put on a set of headphones. A CD player was in her hand, she pressed the play button. Heather's brother, Graham spoke up.  
  
"Who are you listening to?" he asked.  
  
Abri took a bite of a piece of bacon.  
  
"Theory of a Dead Man." she said.  
  
Graham smiled.  
  
"You've got their new CD?" he asked.  
  
Abri shook her head.  
  
"Spider-Man soundtrack."  
  
Graham's smile widened.  
  
"You are my new best friend!" he said.  
  
Abri smiled a little.  
  
"If I die you can have it." she said.  
  
Graham looked confused.  
  
"Pardon?" he said.  
  
"If something happens to me, which it most likely will, you can have my CD." Abri said simply.  
  
Mrs. Greenwald looked as confused as her son.  
  
"Tell, me again, why you two are here." she said.  
  
Dib took a sip of orange juice and spoke.  
  
"We are paranormal investigators. We came here to investigate the crop circle in your field. We were just going to look and run, but Abri here had to go all motherly, when she saw Heather crying in a rocking chair on the front porch." he said.  
  
Abri stood up.  
  
"Thank you for your hospitality ma'am. We'd better get going." she said. She and Dib turned and walked out of the kitchen. Heather jumped out of her chair and ran out the kitchen door. Mrs. Greenwald stood up and tried to stop her, but the little girl was too fast. She ran up to Abri and threw her arms around her legs, sobbing.  
  
"I don't want you to go!" she said.  
  
Abri was startled, she bent down and looked Heather in the eye.  
  
"I have to go. Dib and I can't stay here. There are other pretty pictures we have to go look at in other fields." she said, remembering the story she told the five year old the night before.  
  
"You never told me how the story ends." Heather said.  
  
Abri closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't want to frighten the girl, but she didn't want to lie to her ether. But the second choice was the only way.  
  
"Well, after the bad thing left, the other bad things realized that the two good people who came to look at the pictures couldn't be stopped. So they stopped making the pictures and went away. The little girl was sad when the good people had to leave. They told her that they would be back. They said that if the bad things came back, they'd come back too. They didn't want the little girl or her family to get hurt." Abri said.  
  
Heather looked at Abri in the eyes.  
  
"That's not really how it will end will it?" she asked quietly.  
  
Abri's mouth fell open slightly.  
  
"I hope it ends that way." she whispered.  
  
Heather handed Abri her teddy bear.  
  
"Here." she said.  
  
Abri looked startled.  
  
"No, I couldn't. But I've got something for you." she said, she pulled her rosary out of her pocket.  
"Here. It helped me whenever I got scared. Say," she looked at Heather's bear.  
"It can be a necklace for your teddy bear." she said, putting the rosary around the bear's neck.  
She stood up and opened the door. Dib handed Heather a piece of paper.  
  
"Give that to your mom, okay? It my cell phone number, tell her if any of the bad things come back, call us and we'll be back." he said.  
  
Heather stepped out on the front porch and nodded, hugging her bear.  
  
Abri and Dib walked down the road. They both looked back and saw Heather standing there, waving. Abri sighed.  
  
"Nice kid." she said.  
  
Dib laughed.  
  
"Why were you acting all motherly to her?" he asked.  
  
Abri chuckled.  
  
"Hey, I've got three kid brothers, I can't help it." she said. They didn't talk again until they were a mile down the road.  
  
"Can I use you're phone?" she asked.  
  
Dib pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her.  
  
Abri dialed a number and spoke.  
  
"Yes, may I speak with Agent Black Hawk, please? Fine I'll hold." she said as she walked, Dib knew she had dialed the Swollen Eyeball society number. Abri was getting impatient.  
  
"C'mon, pick up, pick up , pick up- Arwin! Lady Thrax here- yes, I'm fine, listen have you seen the news?! 15 crop circles in India within the last 24 hours! Don't get cute with me, I know that I am wrong now. I now know that crop circles mean something. If only we knew how to decode them... Wh- what's so funny? Zeek just got fired?" she said.  
  
Dib heard the voice on the other side. It sounded like a young British man.  
  
"Yeah, he's going around shouting, 'my life is over'! it's rather funny." said the British guy.  
  
Abri chuckled.  
  
"I'll go lower the flag to half mast." she said sarcastically.   
  
Dib heard Arwin again.  
  
"Do you want to go see 'Signs' tomorrow?" he asked.  
  
Abri sighed.  
  
"Arwin, we don't need to see it, we're living it. Keep tabs on any newspaper, media, or radio report you hear." she said.  
  
Dib stopped and looked at the sky, he pulled on Abri's arm. Abri turned was about to speak when suddenly the phone died. Birds began flying in every direction. Dib pointed at the sky, a strange V-shaped object with bright lights hovered slowly in the sky.  
  
"Don't blink." he said.  
  
Abri pulled out a pair of binoculars.  
  
"That ain't no government air craft." she whispered.  
  
Dib pulled out a camera and began snapping photos. Neither of them blinked. Suddenly, the object vanished.  
  
Dib smiled.  
  
"If you could have David Ducoveni, better known as Muldar, or Mel Gibson here with you, who would it be?" he asked.  
  
Abri gritted her teeth in thought.   
  
"Um, Mel definitely." she said. The cell phone rang. Abri answered it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Arwin spoke in a frightened voice.  
  
"Abri, you know that house that you and Dib were just at?"  
  
Both Abri and Dib felt dread begin to grow in their stomachs.   
  
"Y-yes. Why, what's wrong?" she stuttered.  
  
"Get down there now!" Arwin said.  
  
"What happened at that house, Arwin?!" Abri shouted into the mouthpiece.  
"Tell me, dammit!" she said. Suddenly she dropped the phone, she looked up and saw more of the V-shaped crafts in the air.  
  
"God Almighty." she whispered. She and Dib ran back to the farmhouse. They stopped when they turned the corner.  
  
The house lay in ruins. Smoke was still hanging in the air. The two paranormalists silently prayed that Mrs. Greenwald and her family were still alive. Dib and Abri sifted through the wreckage. Mrs. Greenwald and Graham were dead, but Heather was missing. Abri looked around, calling Heather's name. She tripped over something. She stepped back and fell to her knees.  
  
"No... Oh God no." she whispered. A small arm was lying underneath some wreckage. A brown, soot- covered teddy bear lay next to the arm. A red and gold rosary was wrapped around the hand. Abri pulled back the burned wood and debris. What she saw made her fight to hold back tears.  
  
Heather was dead. She lay there, her face streaked with soot and cuts. She was still clothed in her nightgown. Abri broke down.  
  
"Oh God." she whispered.  
"Oh God, oh God. I know what crop circles mean now." she said, raising and looking at Dib.  
  
Dib nodded.  
  
"I do too. They are targets for aliens to come and blow up the houses. It's final, we're at war." he said.  
  
Abri nodded. Dib went on.  
  
"It's going to be like no war in recorded history. It's going to be the War of the Worlds."   
  
A/N: Stupid crop circle documentaries! Stupid H.G. Wells! Anywhoozle..I didn't want to kill Mrs. Greenwald and family, but- sadly, it made a good plot twist. I'm gonna go cry...(Sniff) 


	5. Signs

Signs  
  
Ch. 5: Signs  
  
A/N: Freaky plot twists a-bound in this chapter! The freaky little white eyed aliens make a comeback as well as someone else. One funny thing I noticed while watching the Sci-Fi channel endlessly, for those who like Mystery Science Theater 3000 and have read 'War of The Worlds', in MST3K, the evil scientist is named Dr. Clayton Forrester, the same name of the dude in War of The Worlds. God, that was pointless, funny, yet pointless.  
  
Abri sighed. The cell phone rang a moment later, Arwin told her that she was the one who could stop the aliens from destroying the planet.   
  
"Sometimes I wish I was like everyone else. Instead of a Scully-look -alike, instead of- what I am now."  
  
Dib 'phft' quietly.  
  
"You want to be petty and dishonest?" he asked.  
  
Abri turned around angrily.  
  
"I already am! I wasn't meant to tackle an invading alien swarm! That's your dream, not mine!" she said.  
  
The cell phone rang again. Dib answered it.  
  
"Hello, Arwin? Yeah, we're at the house- or what's left of it. You want to talk to Abri, okay..." he handed the phone to the self-loathing teen.  
"Here."  
  
Abri spoke in a rather snappish tone.  
  
"What now Arwin?" she asked. Her eyes widened. Dib could hear Arwin's voice over the line.  
  
"I need you to grab the heaviest artillery you can, we've already called in the air force, but we need someone who knows more than anyone about alien crafts and invasions. Please, will you do-" he was cut off by Abri's angry words.  
  
"No, I will not! I've had enough of this! I should have given this up years ago! I wasn't meant to be the hero. Have Dib do it! I don't want the fame. The world doesn't matter anymore." she said venomously. Arwin spoke up.  
  
"All I ask is that you try-" he started.  
  
Abri spoke slowly and coldly so that neither Dib nor Arwin would forget what she said.  
  
"I gave up trying years ago." she said. Arwin sounded angry.  
  
"You always were cold-hearted. I thought there was some good in you-"  
  
Abri laughed darkly.  
  
"Well, you thought wrong, didn't you? You can beg me all you want, my answer is no! I'm going home where I can live my last moments in peace."  
  
Dib took the phone out of her hands and turned it off.  
  
"The only peace you'll have is by yourself." Dib said.  
  
"I'm used to being alone! When you have no friends that's what you are! Don't tell me you've never experienced true loneliness, Dib Membrane! You know how much it hurts, don't you? Don't try to hide it! You've thought about giving up, but I succeeded! You can go get yourself killed for a lost cause, I'm going home!" Abri said.  
  
Dib shook his head as Abri walked the other way.  
  
"You're just waiting for the bombs to fall." he said.  
  
Abri stopped and spoke again.  
  
"Like I said before, if it really is the end of the world- I'm screwed, aren't I? But now, I'm not the only one- it's the whole friggin' planet!"  
  
Dib could see in her eyes what years of taunts and jeers and harassment had led to. This final moment when she believed that nothing was worth fighting for. Dib looked back into his own mind- he'd suffered too, he'd thought about giving up, but he didn't. He fought his way to be heard, yet his cries fell on deaf ears... Until Abri, but now here she was, a broken, self-loathing young woman with dreams that had been shattered by a loss of nerve and faith. Dib glared coldly at Abri's retreating back.  
  
"Fine, flush your life down the toilet!" he said.  
"I do hope that you may have a change of heart... But I guess you can't change a heart made of stone, can you?" he said.  
  
Abri continued to walk the other way. The mark on her hand changing every few seconds. If there was such a thing as hell on earth, she thought, it would have to be in the human mind. She looked up at the sky when she heard a sound as though planes were soaring overhead. She made a 'tsk'-ing noise when she saw that it was more V-shaped crafts flying to where ever they saw another crop circle. She knew that Dib couldn't tackle those things by himself. She thought about turning back, but shook herself mentally.  
  
"If you go back that would only shed more innocent blood." she whispered to herself. A little voice in the back of her mind spoke up.  
  
"Doesn't Dib count?" it asked.  
  
Abri groaned.  
  
"I thought I got rid of you!" she snarled.  
  
"The only thing you lose by smacking your head against the wall is brain cells, not your conscience.  
  
Abri cursed under her breath.  
  
"Damn!" she muttered.  
"The last thing I need is sympathy from my own mind." she said.  
  
The voice chuckled.  
  
"I'm sure Freud is rolling over in his grave." it said.  
  
"I hate you." Abri muttered.  
  
"The feeling's mutual."  
  
****  
  
Dib fast-walked down the road. He knew he had to do something- but what? He had no idea what he'd do if aliens really invaded, he thought it wouldn't be in his lifetime. He tried to remember what happened in 'Close Encounter of the Third Kind'. He saw that years ago, and he couldn't remember. The only thing he could remember was the cool five-noted song that the ship played. He read 'War of the Worlds' but he couldn't remember anything from that either. It didn't matter, seeing as alien v-shaped ships were hovering near the ground. Dib watched as three two foot tall aliens with white glowing eyes stepped out, carrying something on a stretcher. One of the aliens put it's hand above the thing on the stretcher, a white light shot out of the creature's hand, engulfing the stretcher. A moment later, Zim sat up- alive, as though nothing had happened to him.  
  
"What- what's going on?!" he saw the little aliens and screamed.  
"Why are you here?! This is my Invasion! MINE! Not yours!" he saw Dib and sighed.  
  
"Dib-worm! Tell them that I am the true master of this planet!"   
  
Dib backed away in fear. Zim turned his attention back to the aliens.  
  
"Me! ME, understand?! I conquer planet- you find different one!"  
  
One of the little aliens stepped foreword, it spoke in a deep, if not frightening voice.  
  
"Imprison the green one, kill the big-headed boy."  
  
Dib glared.  
  
"My head's not big!" he said. The little aliens rounded on Dib, they all had evil looking spears pointed at him. Another whirring noise sound from the distance. A moment later, a figure on what looked mysteriously like the Goblin Glider from Spider-Man appeared.  
  
"Hey! You can keep the green one, but the big-headed kid is mine." said the figure, Dib knew that voice.  
  
"Abri?!" Dib said, trying not to make any sudden movements. Abri was dressed in green and black armor.  
  
"One and only!" she said, her face was hidden behind a hockey mask, the little aliens bowed.  
  
"Oh fearless leader!" said the one who ordered Dib dead.  
"What have we done to deserve your presence?"  
  
Abri pulled out a high-tech blaster.  
  
"Not a damn thing." she said, she killed the aliens on the ground. Dib leapt on to her glider.  
  
"Where'd you get this stuff?!" Dib asked, looking at all the weapons and Abri's armor.  
  
Abri removed her mask.  
  
"My friends at the FBI." she said, shrugging.  
  
Dib sighed.  
  
"Why did you come back?" Dib asked.  
  
Abri landed the glider where some more alien ships were landing.  
  
"I'd never be able to live with the guilt if you died. I feel like I drove you into this, I yelled at you that the job was in your hands. If you died, it would be by the hands of these white-eyed freaks. Yet- in a way, you would have died at mine."  
  
Dib looked amazed.  
  
"You're a writer aren't you?" he asked.  
  
Abri nodded.  
  
"I write horror and science fiction. I write to scare people, but- when there is no one left to scare- I get pretty frightened myself." she said. Dib looked as though he didn't understand. Abri went on.  
"I can easily get trapped in a world that is my own doing. I think you've had some experience in that." she said smiling. Dib nodded.  
  
"Let's go kick some alien butt!" he said. Abri stopped him.  
  
"Hold it, Tommy-Lee Jones, you need to get suited up." she held up two suits or armor, one red, one black.  
"Pick your color." she said. Dib pointed to the red one. Abri handed it to him. He put it on, Abri chuckled.  
  
"You look like Robin from Batman." she said.  
  
Dib glared. He was smiling.  
  
"Yeah, well, you look like the Riddler." he said. Abri let out a low cackle.  
  
"Oh really? Well then, riddle me this, Mothman- if it is fame you seek, yet you don't want to be trapped in the media swarm, you should fight aliens in what form?"  
  
Dib looked confused. He repeated the rhyme in his head. Abri hummed the tune to 'Hero' under her breath. Dib snapped his fingers.  
  
"In disguise! We have to fight the aliens in disguise!" he said.  
  
Abri shook her head.  
  
"Not 'we', you Dib. You deserve to be the hero not me. The last thing I need is to see someone playing me on the sliver screen. You can get your point across." she said, taking off her armor, reveling her black clothes she had on before. Dib stared.  
  
"I-I thought you were helping me." he said. Abri seemed to go into static-as though she were nothing more than a hologram projection.  
  
"I am, I'll help you in anyway I can- take the glider, it's of no use to me anymore." she said, suddenly her image faded from view. Her voice sounded from with in his mind.  
"I'll act as your mind, your reflexes. Blank out every thought from your mind, I'll take control, telling you when to shoot, what to use. Nothing will harm you while I'm here." she said.  
  
"Who are you, really?" Dib asked.  
  
Abri's voice laughed.  
  
"The truth will reveal itself in time. The signs will give their real meaning when the moon the is in midnight hour. Soon afterward, the enemy will have weakened power." she said.  
  
Dib sighed. Another riddle. He had no idea what Abri meant, but he knew that he could think about that later, seeing as a huge spaceship hovered near him. Abri's voice spoke again.  
  
"Climb on."  
  
Dib felt as though something was controlling his body, he spoke.  
  
"I can't get on. I'd have to jump off something." he said.  
  
Abri's voice remained calm.  
  
"Hmmm. Care to try some flying, Mothman?" she asked.  
  
Dib shook his head.  
  
"Are you crazy?! I don't want to end up a splat on an alien windshield thank you very much!" he said.  
  
Abri sighed.  
  
"Very well. I'll do it myself." she said, she appeared a moment later still clothed in black. Her fondora hat was under her arm.  
"I don't want the fame, you take the credit weather or not I'm killed!" she said.  
"Come with me. I need to get to the city, that's where the ships are all heading. But we have to get to Seattle before the ships do. How?" she thought aloud. Dib looked at the glider.  
  
"Does that thing have boosters?" he asked.  
  
Abri nodded.  
  
"Yes. Oh, here, I got this for you. When I asked you if you wanted to trying flying, I meant with these." she said. She held out a pair of what looked like metal wings attached to something that looked similar to Zim's backpod. Dib felt a slight pain as it connected to his armor. He looked back at them.  
  
"Cool. How do they work?" he asked.  
  
Abri was hovering above him on her glider.  
  
"Just kick off from the ground! There is a control panel built into the wrist compartment of your armor, you can go as fast as you need! Try to keep up with me!" she said.   
  
Dib jumped into the air, a moment later, he was gliding He found the wrist -wing-control Abri had talked about and pressed a button that made him catch up with her. The two of them saw that they were getting closer to the large ship. Abri lowered her glider near the top of a building. Unfortunately, she hovered a little too low, the glider tipped foreword, causing Abri to fall off. Dib stopped and landed near the totaled glider. Abri got up, shaking her head.  
  
"Ooooh," she put her hat back on and saw Dib standing there, she stood up.  
"What are you doing?! I told you, don't worry about me! I'm fine anyway, just a little scrape on the side of my head. Get back in the air, don't let the smaller ships out of your sight!" she said. They lost sight of the huge ship. Dib took off, he watched Abri step back a few paces, then run at full speed only to jump off the side of the building. Dib cried out in horror.  
  
"NO!"   
  
Suddenly, the large ship rose up into the air, Abri was alive, unconscious but alive, on the windshield of the ship. She shook herself back to the real world. Dib looked at his watch... It was one minute till midnight.  
  
"Abri! It's nearly midnight! What did you mention to me in that riddle?!" Dib shouted. Abri was holding onto the ship for dear life. Abri shouted back at him.  
  
10 seconds..  
  
"It's time I tell you what this is all about! I didn't know! I didn't mean for it to go this far!"  
  
8 seconds.... The ships were glowing with a bluish-white light. Abri looked Dib right in the eye. She looked rather sinister.  
  
"I had no idea that my years of alien experimentation would lead to this! I managed to create a highly sophisticated alien race! They were perfect! But soon- they went out my control! They developed minds of their own, disregarding my orders! Now they- I- have killed an innocent family. I didn't know they knew what the crop circle meant! I knew what it meant the moment I made it!"  
  
2 seconds... Dib was disturbed at the idea that his fellow colleauge- no, his friend, would do such a thing.  
  
"You did this?!" he screamed.  
  
Abri smiled. Suddenly, she stood on the ship's nose- and let herself drop.  
  
Dib watched it all. He landed on the ground where Abri was lying, the alien crafts no longer had the power they needed. The ships disappeared. Suddenly- so did the buildings. One by one the people who formed a circle around Dib and the dead psychopath that the paranormalist had trusted, disappeared. Then the world faded before the ten-year old's very eyes.... He found himself staring into this blank nothing-ness. Even Abri's body had disappeared. Suddenly, he saw something like a window out of the corner of his eye. He walked over to it- and saw his room, was that a way out of this hell hole? He reached foreword, slipping though it easily, he felt as though he were falling, he closed his eyes and waited to end up like Abri... he hit the ground, he felt his body bounce back in a way...  
  
He opened his eyes, he found himself in his bed. He was alive. Dib took a deep breath. He remembered Abri's words:  
  
"I can easily get trapped in a world that is my own doing." he heard himself whisper. He heard Abri's voice in his mind, singing the part of 'Hero' she sang before,  
  
" Now that the world isn't ending   
It's love that I'm sending to you  
It isn't the love of a hero  
And that's why I fear it won't do..."  
  
Dib got out of bed and looked out the window. He stared in fear at what he saw in his front lawn....  
  
...A crop circle... Dib shook his head, not daring to believe it. He turned on his radio, there were news casts that crop circles had been appearing all over the world. Hours with in eachother... Dib took a deep breath again, forcing himself to realize the truth... He uttered the words quietly in hopes that no one would hear him...  
  
"It's like War of the Worlds..."  
  
A/N: I pulled an M. Night Shyalaman at the end! I'm done! Done! Ha-ha! Yes, that was me in my evil-genus-mode! I died in my own story-wow... Oh well, I needed someone to be the villain and it might as well be me! I'm not sure but I think I actually met M. Night Shyalaman once... I saw him last night on TV and thought, 'hey that guy looks really farmiler!' That was before I realized who he really was! 


End file.
